History

The Football Association Challenge Cup, now widely regarded as the oldest and greatest cup competition in the world and commonly known as the FA Cup, was first suggested by the FA secretary, Charles W Alcock, at a meeting on Thursday 20 July 1871 in the offices of The Sportsman newspaper in London.

The first competition in season 1871-72 had fifteen entries. Wanderers - a team formed by ex-public school and university players - won the first final 1-0 against Royal Engineers at Kennington Oval, watched by a crowd of 2,000 who each paid one shilling (5p).

The FA Cup now attracts over 725 clubs each year aiming to taste cup glory while, with TV rights sold to over one hundred countries, the final is now regularly witnessed by a global audience of half a billion.

FA Cup milestones

The longest-ever FA Cup tie lasted 11 hours, coming in the fourth qualifying round when Alvechurch needed five replays to defeat Oxford City in November 1971.

The last tie that went to a second replay was in the fifth round in February 1991 between Liverpool and Everton. The first replay ended in a famous 4-4 draw.

Season 1991-92 saw the introduction of ties being settled by a penalty shoot-out after a first replay had ended level after extra-time.

The FA Cup’s first-ever penalty shoot was held at Rotherham United’s Millmoor home on the 26 November 1991 when the Millers eliminated Scunthorpe United by a 7-6 margin.

1993 saw the last FA Cup final that went to a replay - Arsenal v Sheffield Wednesday.

Arsenal were also involved in the last replayed semi-final when Manchester United’s Ryan Giggs scored a memorable winning goal in 1999.

Since 1923, the final has been staged at Wembley Stadium except for the period from 2001 to 2006 when Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium became the temporary home during the Wembley re-construction.